Freebies coming up from the Connecticut Post print version.
Buried on page 19 of Sunday’s Connecticut Post, a new program beginning April 1st offering readers free deals every Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday from local businesses. One example (not an actual coupon, just a preview) is a coupon from Stew Leonards offering a free $10 cookbook. We will keep you updated on when we spot these freebies and on what pages…it’ll most likely be a print promotion only. Stay tuned!
Get your garden going with this free library how-to event.
Have our shopping habits really changed and if we are more frugal, will we stay more frugal for the long run? Studies say that we will...Photo: gmnonic, Flickr
There are two new posts out about our changing shopping habits. One post from the Gourmet Retailer reports that consumers around the country don’t bulk shop, but they visit stores more often (probably because they are unemployed or they are hoping to find those elusive food bargains!).
Another post just out this morning from Gaebler.com, says that an “enduring shift” has taken place due to the recession. The study Gaebler quotes says that 72 percent of all consumers surveyed indicated that their shopping habits have changed in some way while only 7 percent made no changes at all.
The bottom line: more Americans have become frugal, and that mindset may (or may not) endure for a while (think the lingering Depression-era mindset of older generations).
Being that this is a blog for the frugal-minded, we thought we’d share this funny post that is going around the Internet about how affluent Fairfield County folks “roughed it” during and after the big storm. If you didn’t catch it, read it with photos and comments here at blog 06880, or scroll down below for regular text.
From 06880 blog:
New Orleans, Haiti and Chile have had their tragedies. And America was there to help. Now the scene shifts further north. And again, you are needed.
The Counties of Fairfield and Westchester, in the northern New York City suburbs, were battered by a mighty “Nor’Easter” on Saturday. And life has not returned to normal.
Most of both counties were without power or heat for most of that weekend, and many remain in the dark and cold. The hardships have been profound.
To combat the sub-50 degree temperatures, many residents were forced to keep their NorthFace down parkas on all day (along with their cashmere socks and sweaters). Stocks of split and dried Vermont firewood and Ralph Lauren Home candles have grown dangerously low.
Unable to get internet access or charge their IPhones and Blackberry’s, devastated citizens drove for up to 5 miles to find the nearest Starbucks or Barnes & Noble, and then had to fight unruly crowds, as bored middle aged suburbanites jostled with one another for a seat near an outlet.
In Greenwich, the storm struck to the heart and soul of the community as the roof was ripped off the most revered building in the town, and the center of its spiritual life – Whole Foods.
Because crews could not remove all the hundreds of fallen trees immediately, many roads are literally impassible, forcing residents to drive their Range Rovers and Lexuses hundreds and sometimes thousands of feet out of their way around winding detours.
Unable to cook even the simplest spinach omelet at home, residents crowded into upscale bistros eager to order a simple swordfish, with just lemon, and a modest pino grigio, before supplies were exhausted.
We need your help. No donation is too small, but what is needed most urgently are fully charged Ipods, UGGS, Hunter rain boots in all colors, and steaming hot grande mocha frappacinos
Free Food for Thought Expo in Fairfield. Photo: Freepixels.com
Free Admission!
What: The Food For Thought Expo
(We hope they address ways to stay frugal while eating healthy, too!)
When: Saturday, March 24th from 10-4
Where: Fairfield Warde High School
Who: Esteemed speakers include Bruce Gluck from New Canaan Public Schools, Sue Caldwell of Health in a Hurry Restaurant, Valerie Wilke from Bloodroot, Amie Guyette Hall, cooking coach, Margaret Sapir of Wave Hill Breads, JoAnne Koebbe, a Certified LEAN Coach & Health Instructor, Michelle Falshman of Fairfield Public Schools, Dr. Marlene Schwartz of the rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Analiese Paik of The Fairfield Green Food Guide, Samantha Heller, registered dietitian and exercise physiologist, and Nick Mancini of the Cooperative Extension System of the University of Connecticut.
Free Admission!
Schedule (this is a condensed version, but the day is packed–pick and choose, and many demos are repeated):
All Day 10:00–4:00 – Visit 5 Interactive Family Friendly Stations That Will Expand Your Food Knowledge and Build Comfort in Your Kitchen
10:00-10:45 – Whole Foods, Whole You
1:45-11:00 – Gluten Free and Flour Power
10:15-11:15 – Growing Your Own Produce/Organic Backyard Gardening
10;30-11:00 – Healthy Eating Choices for the Whole Family
11:00-11:30 – Whole Grains & Buying Local Breads
11:00-11:30 – Healthy Eating Choices for the While Family
11:30-11:45 – Whole Foods, Whole You
11:30-12:30 – Get Smart: Samantha Heller’s Nutrition Prescription for Boosting Brain Power
11:45-12:45 – Food Explorers: Over, Under and Inside the Rainbow of Food
12:30-1:00 – Cooking in the Classroom: The Fairfield Middle School Curriculum
1:00-2:15 – An Introduction to Health Supportive Cuisine
1:00-2:00 – Get It Local: Finding All Your Eating Needs In and Around Fairfield County
1:30-2:00 – Cooking in the Classroom: The Fairfield Middle School Curriculum
2:15-3:15 – Lunch Box Fun and Co-Op buying
2:15-3:15 – From Classrooms to Cafeterias: Public Schools and the School Lunch Program as a Support for Health and Sustainable Food Systems
3:00-3:30 – Healthy Eating Choices for the While Family
3:16-4:00 – Re-Thinking The School Lunch Menu
Enjoy!
After the debut of Food Revolution, go to Fairfield's free Food for Thought Expo on March 27th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Andrew Warde High School. Photo: Courtesy of jamieoliver.com
If you saw and appreciated Naked Chef Jamie Oliver’s reality show sneak peek last night on ABC, called Food Revolution (read the Washington Post’s review for a witty, realistic, and well-written review), you’ll be happy to know there’s a free healthy food Expo on Saturday, March 27th right in our own backyard. (By the way, Jamie Oliver’s show previews on ABC this Friday, March 26th, from 8-10 pm.)
Following are all the details of Fairfield’s own free Food For Thought Expo:
Food for Thought Expo to Celebrate Local Farms, Stores, Restaurants, and Educators for National Nutrition Month
FAIRFIELD, Conn., Fuel for Learning Partnership, a PTA Council Standing Committee, will sponsor the Food for Thought Expo. Scheduled for Saturday, March 27th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm the expo will take place at Fairfield Warde High School, in Fairfield Connecticut.
The expo is free and open to the public and will feature a wide variety of vendors ready to help area residents make the best possible choices in local produce, meats, groceries, and ready-made foods
Events to be held throughout the day include panel discussions on the availability of local produce, backyard gardening, and public school opportunities for promoting healthful eating and lifestyle choices as well as children’s activities. Speakers will include author Samantha Heller, MS, RD, CDN, who will discuss her new book, Get Smart: Samantha Heller’s Nutrition Prescription for Boosting Brain Power and Optimizing Total Body Health, and Amie Hall, CHHC, AADP, of From Your Inside Out, will provide cooking demonstrations that use whole foods and locally-sourced ingredients. Participating businesses and organizations include Health in a Hurry, Catch a Healthy Habit, Wave Hill Bread, Mrs. Greens, Green Gourmet to Go, Bloodroot Restaurant, Jeff Borofsky’s Portable Pizza Oven, 4-H, and many others.
“It seems almost daily that we hear or read stories about the foods we eat, many of them with bad news,” Michelle McCabe, Chairperson of Fuel for Learning Partnership (FFLP) said. “While this expo will certainly remind us of what to avoid, the main goal is to help us better feed our families. With the help of cooking instructors, educators, and local businesses, visitors to the Food for Thought Expo will be introduced to the vast range of resources available to help us all attain that goal of healthful eating.”
The FFLP, recipient of a 2010 Adults & Children Together grant awarded by Fairfield’s Prevention Council, encourages Fairfield County parents, students, teachers, food service staff, and Board of Education members to jointly pursue the common goal of serving safe, high quality, nutritional meals to the students of Fairfield. FFLP seeks to affect positive change in how we eat by coming together as a community to broadly educate and change eating habits through the endorsement of sustainable eating practices.
The FFLP is hosting the expo Food for Thought Expo as part of an on-going effort to help educate people about their approach to nutrition, and how their approach can overcome many of the health challenges our community faces today. “We’re all on a journey toward changing the way we eat,” Ms. McCabe said. “That comes with a learning curve, and our focus is to help people take ownership of their health, and the health of their children.”
For more information, contact Nancy Church, 203-259-5863, churchnj53@aol.com
TFF
